Jem'Hadar
:You may be looking for the DS9 episode . ---- :"Obedience brings victory, and victory is life." ::- Jem'Hadar battle chant A genetically engineered humanoid race from the Gamma Quadrant, the Jem'Hadar are the military arm of the Dominion and one of the most powerful military forces in the galaxy. Physiology The Jem'Hadar are bred in hatcheries. ( ) For humanoids, the Jem'Hadar have an incredibly fast metabolic rate due to modifications made on their genetic structure by the Founders. The Jem'Hadar are bred in birthing chambers and have been known to be placed in stasis chambers until their awakening. Because of this, there are only males in the Jem'Hadar species. A Jem'Hadar baby is born looking almost mammalian and is mature within three days of leaving its birthing chamber, allowing for very rapid replacement of casualties. Within a day of maturation, Jem'Hadar children already have advanced language skills and cognitive reasoning. Adolescent Jem'Hadar require food for consumption. When they are older they begin to take on a reptilian appearance. ( ) Adult Jem'Hadar do not require either sleep or nourishment; any form of relaxation is shunned on the belief that it would only make them weak. Like the Vorta, they are genetically engineered to be loyal to the Founders and to see them as gods, however, this genetic engineering isn't without its flaws, and sometimes despite this Jem'Hadar are disloyal. ( ) To supplement this, the Founders have omitted an isogenic enzyme which is supplied by the drug ketracel-white, the only form of sustenance required by adult Jem'Hadar. Without large quantities of the white, Jem'Hadar circulatory systems begin to shut down, beginning with muscle spasms, and they become violent, killing first their enemies, then their allies, then finally each other. ( ) As a result of advanced genetic engineering and combat breeding, the Jem'Hadar have excellent vision, and are several times stronger than Humans. ( ) All Jem'Hadar have a built-in ability to "shroud" themselves, a form of camouflage which effectively hides them from both sensors and the naked eye. ( ) }} Most Jem'Hadar die young in battle; as such, it is rare for them to live past 15 years of age. Few ever live to the age of 20. Those who do are awarded the title "Honored Elders." No Jem'Hadar has ever lived to the age of 30. ( ) Cut off from reinforcements in the Gamma Quadrant during the Dominion War, the Founders began to breed Jem'Hadar soldiers in the Alpha Quadrant known as "Alpha" in 2374. The Alphas were regarded - largely by themselves - as being superior to original "Gamma" Jem'Hadar, so their introduction led to considerable friction with their Gamma Quadrant counterparts. The primary difference between the two was that the DNA and psychological profile of the Alphas were specifically designed for combat in the Alpha Quadrant. The Founders believed this made them better leaders over the Gammas. ( ) Culture and tradition Although the Jem'Hadar worship the Founders as gods, the vast majority of the Jem'Hadar have never actually seen a Founder, and some doubt that they even exist. ( ) Yet they have built their service to the shapeshifters into a religion, literally regarding the Founders as living gods, to the extent that the Jem'Hadar ritualistically commit suicide if they fail to protect a shapeshifter from harm. ( ) The Vorta, as the representatives of the Founders, are also given immense loyalty by most Jem'Hadar – even when such loyalty seems unwarranted. Absolute obedience from the Jem'Hadar is further guaranteed by the Vortas' control of the ketracel-white. ( ) Although the glory of the Founders means everything for the Jem'Hadar, they also show a strong sense of honor for themselves. Ikat'ika, First of Dominion Internment Camp 371 showed this, when he refused to kill Worf, even after he was ordered to by his superior Vorta. He chose rather to yield the fight than to kill Worf, saying "I cannot defeat this Klingon. All I can do is kill him, and that no longer holds my interest." He was ordered to be shot for this insubordination. This indicates that a Jem'Hadar might prefer insubordination and therefore death to doing something he considers to be dishonorable ( ). Jem'Hadar combat units follow a very specific hierarchy. Normally, a Vorta commands one or several units. Every unit contains a Jem'Hadar First, who is in command. Each Jem'Hadar after the First is also given a number rank (Second, Third, Fourth, etc.). In the event the First is killed, the Second shall take over for the First, the Third will take over Second, and so forth. Although the succeeding Jem'Hadar will take over the duties of his superior, he will only receive the higher number rank if his Vorta commander allows it. ( ) Before each battle, the First states the following speech to his unit: :"I am Rank Name, and I am dead. As of this moment, we are all dead. We go into battle to reclaim our lives. This, we do gladly, for we are Jem'Hadar. Remember - victory is life." The rest of the unit then responds: :"Victory is life." ( ) A similar exchange states: "Obedience brings victory, and victory is life." ( ) The dispensing of Ketracel-white has a ritual statement, spoken between the Vorta and the First. The Vorta presents the vials of white and asks: :"Rank Name, can you vouch for the loyalty of your men?" The First responds: :"We pledge our loyalty to the Founders from now until death." The Vorta then replies: :"Then receive this reward from the Founders. May it keep you strong." ( ) Jem'Hadar Firsts were also capable of distributing the white among those under their command. By 2374, Alpha Jem'Hadar no longer recited the ritual dispersal statement, as they demonstrate their loyalty by their actions, not their words. ( ) See also: *Jem'Hadar ranks *Dominion history *Dominion philosophy Technology The uniforms Jem'Hadar soldiers wear allow them to be almost completely unaffected by many forms of anti-personnel force field. ( ) Their energy weapons contain anti-coagulants that are designed to slowly kill their enemies if the energy discharge did not. The rifle and pistol weapons used by the Jem'Hadar have at least three settings. They are able to stun, deliver a generally lethal pulse laced with the anti-coagulants, and fire a more powerful pulse capable of vaporizing a humanoid target. ( ) . A higher setting was seen to vaporize humanoid targets, such as Jem'Hadar and Breen, in "By Inferno's Light".}} The Jem'Hadar prefer a kar'takin for close combat. ( ) See also *Jem'Hadar fighter *Jem'Hadar battle cruiser *Jem'Hadar battleship Individuals *List of Jem'Hadar Appendices Appearances * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * (hologram) Background which was similar in appearance to a Jem'Hadar]] * When designing the look of the Jem'Hadar, makeup supervisor Michael Westmore was told to "design something that was tough, that they could shoot at but they couldn't hurt, they were indestructible, as an army they were unstoppable, and they would have thick skin." Westmore based the basic design on a rhinoceros skin, but also incorporated elements from dinosaur skin, and he has compared the top of the Jem'Hadar head to a . (Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season 5, DS9 Season 5 DVD special features) * With the exception of skin coloration, the appearance of the Jem'Hadar bears a striking resemblance to a creature which Captain James T. Kirk fought in a brawl shortly after arriving at the penal colony of Rura Penthe in . * Like the Stormtroopers of Star Wars, the Jem'Hadar seem to suffer from the - while their extreme skill and lethality is frequently seen and heard, it routinely disappears when fighting major characters, to the point that, in , even Quark is able to kill two of them at once in order to free Rom and Kira. * Two special effects face make-up lots for a Jem'Hadar was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay as well as a special effects gloves lot , a prop pistol , and a knife. Apocrypha In the Deep Space Nine relaunch, Odo sends Taran'atar, a Jem'Hadar free of the addiction to ketracel-white, to live on Deep Space 9 to foster understanding of the Dominion. External links * * de:Jem'Hadar es:Jem'Hadar fr:Jem'Hadar ja:ジェム・ハダー nl:Jem'Hadar pl:Jem'Hadar Category:Species